Surah Al Ma'idah Tafseer

قَالَ اللّهُ إِنِّي مُنَزِّلُهَا عَلَيْكُمْ فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بَعْدُ مِنكُمْ

Allah said:"I am going to send it down unto you, but if any of you after that disbelieves..."

by denying this sign and defying its implication, O `Isa,

فَإِنِّي أُعَذِّبُهُ عَذَابًا لاَّ أُعَذِّبُهُ أَحَدًا مِّنَ الْعَالَمِينَ

then I will punish him with a torment such as I have not inflicted on anyone among the Alamin.

among the people of your time.

Allah said in similar Ayat,

وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ أَدْخِلُواْ ءَالَ فِرْعَوْنَ أَشَدَّ الْعَذَابِ

And on the Day when the Hour will be established (it will be said to the angels):"Cause Fir`awn's people to enter the severest torment!" (40:46)

and,

إِنَّ الْمُنَـفِقِينَ فِى الدَّرْكِ الاٌّسْفَلِ مِنَ النَّارِ

Verily, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire. (4:145)

Ibn Jarir said that Abdullah bin `Amr said,

"Those who will receive the severest torment on the Day of Resurrection are three:

The hypocrites,

those from the people of Al-Ma'idah who disbelieved in it, and

the people of Fir`awn."

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn Abbas said,

"They said to `Isa, son of Maryam, `Supplicate to Allah to send down to us from heaven, a table spread with food.'

He also said, `So the angels brought the table down containing seven fish and seven pieces of bread and placed it before them. So the last group of people ate as the first group did."

Ibn Jarir recorded that Ishaq bin Abdullah said that;

the table was sent down to `Isa son of Maryam having seven pieces of bread and seven fish, and they ate from it as much as they wished. But when some of them stole food from it, saying, "It might not come down tomorrow," the table ascended.

These statements testify that the table was sent down to the Children of Israel during the time of `Isa, son of Maryam, as a result of Allah's accepting his supplication to Him. The apparent wording of this Ayah also states so,

قَالَ اللّهُ إِنِّي مُنَزِّلُهَا عَلَيْكُمْ

(Allah said:"I am going to send it down unto you...")